These 20 States Can Revoke Your License for Failure to Pay Student Loans

The pursuit of education — and a satisfying career — can be costly. That’s why over 44 million Americans are saddled with student loan debt.

After graduating, many rely on their jobs to pay off those loans. But some who struggle to pay the money back could wind up losing the very careers they went into debt for.

No Payments, No Licenses

In 20 states, the government can suspend state-issued professional licenses or driver’s licenses if a borrower defaults on their student loan debt, according to The New York Times.

Though not all enforce those laws, here are the states where it’s possible to lose your license over debt:

Alaska

Arkansas

California

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Illinois

Iowa

Kentucky

Louisiana

Massachusetts

Minnesota

Mississippi

New Mexico

North Dakota

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Virginia

Washington

Putting Workers in a Difficult Situation

Revoking a professional license needed for employment or a driver’s license needed to get to a job puts workers in a tough spot.

It’s a Catch-22: You need to work to pay off loans but, in some cases, you have to be paying off the loans in order to work.

The New York Times found at least 8,700 cases where professionals — including nurses, teachers, lawyers and psychologists — have had their licenses taken away or threatened with suspensions in recent years because of failure to pay back student loans.

Because, as The New York Times said, “many state agencies and licensing boards don’t track the information,” that 8,700 figure likely underestimates of the true number of people affected by this policy.

The publication described the tactic of taking away professional licenses as being “especially punitive.”

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.